Glossary of Terms

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P

Packet - A chunk of information sent over a network or the Internet. Each packet contains the address it's going to, the address of who sent it, and some other information.

Packet Driver - A small program used on DOS and Windows PCs to connect network software to a particular kind of network card. Similar to NDIS or ODI driver.

Packet Switching - The method used to move data around on the Internet. In packet switching, all the data coming out of a machine is broken up into chunks, each chunk has the address of where it came from and where it is going. This enables chunks of data from many different sources to co-mingle on the same lines, and be sorted and directed to different routes by special machines along the way. This way many people can use the same lines at the same time.

Page - A document, or hunk of information, available by way of the World Wide Web. To make information available on the World Wide Web, you organize it into one or more pages. Each page can contain text, graphics files, sound files.

Password - A secret code used to keep things private. Your account on the system that connects you to the Internet is no doubt protected by a password. Be sure to pick a code that is not obvious, preferably combining numbers and letters so as to thwart any untoward activity.

Password File - The file in which all the passwords for a system are stored.

PIN (Personal Identification Number) - An alphanumeric or numeric code used to verify the identity of an individual attempting to use a credit card, debit card, or other account

Ping - A program that checks to see whether you can communicate with another computer on the Internet. It sends a short message to which the other computer automatically responds.

PKZIP - A file-compression program that runs on PCs. PKZIP creates a ZIP file that contains compressed versions of one or more files. To restore them to their former size and shape, you use PKUNZIP..

Plug-In - A (usually small) piece of software that adds features to a larger piece of software. Common examples are plug-ins for the Netscape? Browser and web server. Adobe Photoshop? also uses plug-ins. The idea behind plug-in's is that a small piece of software is loaded into memory by the larger program, adding a new feature, and that users need only install the few plug-ins that they need, out of a much larger pool of possibilities. Plug-ins are usually created by people other than the publishers of the software the plug-in works with.

POP (Post Office Protocol) - A system by which a mail server on the Internet lets you pick up your mail and download it to your PC or Mac.

POP Account - See E-Mail

POP Account Port Number - On a networked computer, an identifying number assigned to each program that is chatting on the Internet. The program that handles incoming telnet sessions uses port 23, for example, and the program that handles some other service has another number. You hardly ever have to know these numbers - the Internet programs work this stuff out among themselves.

Portal - Usually used as a marketing term to described a Web site that is or is intended to be the first place people see when using the Web. Typically a "Portal site" has a catalogue of web sites, a search engine, or both. A Portal site may also offer email and other service to entice people to use that site as their main "point of entry" (hence "portal") to the Web.

POS Terminal - (Point of Sale) An electronic device used for verifying and processing credit card transactions. If the credit card is present, the merchant can swipe the card through the terminal. Also See: Swipe Discount Rate and MOTO Discount Rate.

Posting - A single message entered into a network communications system. Eg a single message posted to a newsgroup or message board. Also See: Newsgroup

Posting - An article in a Usenet newsgroup.

PPP - (Point-To-Point Protocol) A scheme for connecting two computers over a phone line (or a network link that acts like a phone line). Like SLIP, only better.

Prodigy - A large on-line system run by IBM and Sears. If you have a Prodigy account, your Internet address is username@prodigy.com.

Protocol - A system two computers agree on. When you use a file-transfer protocol, for example, the two computers involved (the sender and the receiver) agree on a set of signals that mean "go ahead," "got it," "didn't get it, please resend," and "all done." The Internet involves tons of different protocols for the many different types of computers on the Net that interact.

Pseudoterminal - A fake terminal. On most systems, telnet uses a pseudoterminal to log you in and run your commands.

PSTN - (Public Switched Telephone Network) The regular old-fashioned telephone system.

Public-Service Provider - A time-sharing or SLIP service that enables you to use the Internet on a paying (by the month or hour) basis.

Public Key Encryption - A method of encrypting electronic data. Developed to account for weaknesses in symmetric encryption, public key encryption does not require the transmission of decoding keys themselves.